Older+older or not

Just wondered on the subject of introducing a new cat..mine is a 4 year old, female, spayed and declawed (I'd never, ever declaw a cat..she was declawed when I got her from a shelter).
Though we are not thinking of adopting another cat soon, we could in the future..I would like to adopt an older cat but don't know what age, sex, is preferable for the resident cat, also how would a "clawfull" cat be to a declawed one?
With other cats that I have had the newcomers were younger but not babies, 1 to 2 years younger.
Someplace once I read that cats don't really get lonesome by themselves, that when thinking of bringing another kitty it is more for the person that the cat, what do you think about that?
Thank-you!!

I think the more cats, the merrier!

I have had success adopting new older cats into my multicat household. If you follow the instructions you can find in this thread on introducing a new cat to an old cat, you are almost guaranteed to be successful.

Also, many of our members have one or more clawed cats living with one or more declawed cats. I think it depends a lot on the personalities as to whether this will become a problem.

When I worked at a shelter they prefered that if you had a declawed cat, to get another. Because with the newcomer having claws, your other cat may get scared, and if a fight were to happen some day, your first cat wouldn't have much chances except running or biting. I think it is great that you adopted a declawed cat, not many of them get homes, they need as much loving as possible. Good luck!

Thank-you so much for the replies to my post..I'll keep all that in mind.
When I adopted Madama I didn't know she was declawed, in fact at the time I was thinking of picking out a clawed cat because the feral I had had dissappeared and I thought if she turned up of course I wanted to keep her but didn't know what would be the reaction to another cat in the house..specially from a feral.
When I told the people in the shelter they said they didn't know! I was astounded..does did happen in other shelters? How can they miss it with all the check-ups the cat goes through? I supposed the vet didn't tell them since they get declawed cats or somehow they skipped something..but gee, can't that be troublesome for the kitty or a person that adopts him?

Yes it can , I am completely surprised they had no clue. Maybe the vet was just having an off day? Who knows, but yeah feral kittens can do unexpected things and you never know how they will react, so I am glad you had thought things over. You seem very smart about this and I am sure whatever you do will turn out fine.

I originally had one cat, and then my dog adopted a second several years later. The older cat grumbled a little, but mainly just ignored the newcomer. When the older cat was killed by a neighbor's dog, the newcomer became ONLY CAT for 2 years. Then I started to rescue abandoned kittens. The ONLY CAT then became so jealous that she took her temper out on all the kittens, any new older cats,the dog, and me -- whom she scratched at every opportunity. She would sit on the dresser and wait until I came into the room and then launch herself, with claws out. She would hide under the bed and when I came to change my shoes to slippers or get dressed or undressed, she would come out flying, snarling, and clawing. I was bloody for some months until I taught myself how to keep from reacting

Instead of trying to cajole her into a better mood, I simply walked or worked around her, trying never going within her reach, and ignoring her completely if she got me with her claws. In due course, she accepted this standoff, turning her back on me if I came into the room, and neither of us made eye contact. This went on for almost 4 years. Then I thought I saw a little thaw, and I spoke to her when passing, then gradually I touched her head lightly and passed on. In the 5th year, I could touch her briefly on the head and the back of her neck. Slowly, slowly I managed to touch her to the middle of her back. Then one night she showed up asleep next to my pillow. So (with much, much apprehension) I put a folded towel next to my pillow and she immediately understood it was an olive branch. I still can't touch her belly or down near her tail on her back, nor under the chin (another special spot for cats). But every night she sleeps next to my pillow. The other cats leave her alone (her dislike of them is notorious), but she no longer goes out of her way to attack any of the dogs and cats that constitute The Family. She is 12 years old now, and she is still angry with me, but she also needs me to love her. So I do.

Patience is the word. Every cat is different. Most will integrate to a greater or lesser degree to newcomers of the same or different species, but some carry grudges to their graves. But I am very glad that I finally hit on a pattern of behavior that gave her an opening to more or less make up. If you care about your cats and they care about you, then you will find a way to bring all the members of your household into harmony (or relative harmony...).

Catherine;
Like you well said patience is the word..I never went through an experience like yours nor knew anybody that did_I mean, I knew of people that thought their cats mean or incorregible, but nobody that
was as understanding as you_I admire you. And can't discount the possibility that I might run into a similar situation in the future so I'll keep your story in mind, thank-you very much.